BOSTON -- When a child plays in the school band and rents an instrument, is the instrument clean? A local company said musical instruments are a perfect breeding ground for germs -- germs that can make children very sick.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported that on Thursday, the Medford High School band learned a lesson -- not in music, but in health.

Dr. Lorenzo Lepore is the man behind MaestroMD, a system that sterilizes wind instruments to kill bacteria. He said his company has proof that germs can live inside musical wind instruments, like the clarinet and saxophone, for up to five months.

"We've seen staph growth, strep growth. We've actually been able to prove that bugs that cause disease like meningitis and tuberculosis will grow in these moist, dark environments," said Lepore. "The inside of a musical instrument will in many cases provide a perfect growth medium for bacteria to thrive."

Usually rented instruments are cleaned with alcohol and bleach. But Lepore said that's not enough.

"Cleaning is the first step, but it doesn't kill the pathogens and just regular bacteria that could pose issues for players of these instruments," said Lepore.

The MastroMD system sterilizes instruments the same way medical instruments are cleaned. The instruments are sent off to a lab, and after 10 days, the student gets the sterilized instrument back. Lepore said the instruments are 100 percent germ-free when students get them back.

"It's up to the individual not to share that instrument," said Lepore.

The system costs between $50 and $80 per instrument. It can be a lot of money for school systems that are already dealing with budget cuts. Lepore donated the service to Medford High School -- his alma mater where he played in the band -- this year.

The move is striking a cord with students.

"After it's sterilized, I think I'm going to be the only one playing it," said one student.

Infectious disease specialists said germs could live inside musical instruments for weeks and maybe months. However, the head of infection control at Boston Children's Hospital said just swabbing the instrument's mouthpiece with alcohol should kill most of the germs.